Coal India hopes for export deal with Bangladesh this year

State-owned Coal India is planning to conclude an agreement with the government of Bangladesh this year to start export of coal to that country, reports The Business Standard.
Demand for thermal coal recently began picking up, but Coal India still has a 69 metric ton stock as carryover from the previous year’s production. Its officials are now eyeing the South Asian region, to clear the stock and for future contracts.
Bangladesh is an immediate consideration, as thermal power giant NTPC, the largest client of Coal India, has entered the country by setting up  Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC). This is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between NTPC and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), to construct two 660 Mw coal-based units at Khulna, for an estimated cost of $2 billion.
To finance this JV, India’s Exim Bank will provide a $1.6 billion loan. Bharat Heavy Electricals, another Indian government-owned company, was awarded the contract to construct these power plants. With these developments, Coal India seems optimistic that BIFPC will prefer Indian coal over others. “We are hopeful that this year, the first steps towards export to Bangladesh will be completed,” a senior Coal India official told the newspaper.
Last year, Coal India had sent a team to Bangladesh to check the feasibility of export. Officials say what is mined from Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL), its largest subsidiary, can be loaded into ships at Odisha’s Paradip port and sent to Bangladesh. From there it can be either sent to the power plants through inland waterway or via train.
“Those fine prints can be worked out later. But, it is a priority that we need to seriously look into the export market and Bangladesh is definitely a market we cannot ignore,” said the company official quoted earlier.

Coal India hopes for export deal with Bangladesh this year

State-owned Coal India is planning to conclude an agreement with the government of Bangladesh this year to start export of coal to that country, reports The Business Standard. Demand for thermal coal recently began picking up, but Coal India still has a 69 metric ton stock as carryover from the previous years production. Its officials are now eyeing the South Asian region, to clear the stock and for future contracts. Bangladesh is an immediate consideration, as thermal power giant NTPC, the largest client of Coal India, has entered the country by setting up Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC). This is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between NTPC and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), to construct two 660 Mw coal-based units at Khulna, for an estimated cost of $2 billion. To finance this JV, Indias Exim Bank will provide a $1.6 billion loan. Bharat Heavy Electricals, another Indian government-owned company, was awarded the contract to construct these power plants. With these developments, Coal India seems optimistic that BIFPC will prefer Indian coal over others. We are hopeful that this year, the first steps towards export to Bangladesh will be completed, a senior Coal India official told the newspaper. Last year, Coal India had sent a team to Bangladesh to check the feasibility of export. Officials say what is mined from Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL), its largest subsidiary, can be loaded into ships at Odishas Paradip port and sent to Bangladesh. From there it can be either sent to the power plants through inland waterway or via train. Those fine prints can be worked out later. But, it is a priority that we need to seriously look into the export market and Bangladesh is definitely a market we cannot ignore, said the company official quoted earlier.